Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the rest of it , guys. Again, I apologize.
Chapter 17: Montana: The Continuation

Previously: There will be no previously, as this is considered the same chapter.

***

Yesha ran her fingers over the keys of the baby grand piano in the living room, her thoughts on Maggie and the strange illness that beset her. Maggie had seemed healthy enough― she had certainly been fine only minutes before the onslaught of the pain. But just what did Yesha know? She was a faery, after all. She knew next to nothing of the diseases that plagued humans.

Still, Yesha worried for her hostess and wanted to offer what help she could. Under different circumstances, she knew she and Maggie might have become good friends. Different circumstances meaning sans the existence of one Tierre Wolfson.

“Hi, there.”

The lady Vashkan turned around. Hope had entered the living room without her noticing. Her wounds had really slowed her down if a little girl can sneak up on her.

The little girl sat in front of the piano and looked expectantly up at her, “Maggie says I’m supposed to be nice to you.”

Yesha raised her eyebrows, “Will you be?”

“That depends. Are you nice to Maggie?”

Hmm…how to answer that without lying? “Well, I can promise you that I certainly want to be. And I am trying. I like Maggie.”

Hope looked her up and down. “Okay. I guess I can give you a chance.”

“Why thank you, Miss Hope.”

“You’re welcome.”

Yesha sat on a single sofa and regarded Hope with both amusement and curiosity. She was so small, and yet she had an almost adult bearing. Perhaps that was another result of being acquainted with Tierre. Children grew up too fast.

The little girl faced her piano, small fingers dancing over the keys. The joyful strains of a sweet melody filled the room. The music made the Vashkan think of her childhood. She smiled, “What is that?”

“Mary had a Little Lamb.” Hope giggled childishly, “It’s the first one I learned. It’s my warm-up music.”

“You and Maggie must be very close.”

“Uh-huh. But Maggie didn’t teach me this. Tierre did.”

Yesha froze, “Tierre…plays the piano?”

“Uh-huh. And the violin, flute and the guitar. But he sucks at the guitar. He knows all sorts of useless stuff like how to write prettily and all about dead poets and boring old languages. It’s almost like he went to school long ago when stuff like that was, like, required learning or something.”

Her babbling was charming, but Yesha didn’t pay too much attention. All she could think of was one impossibility, “No. He couldn’t possibly make music.”

“Why not?”

“Because evil cannot create a thing of beauty.”

“And good doesn’t always know enough to judge wisely.”

Yesha found herself ensnared by the child’s sapphire gaze. So young…what could those innocent eyes have possibly seen?

“I’m sorry.” Yesha whispered. But for what?

“Don’t be. I understand hatred, really. If you don’t like Tierre, that’s okay. A lot of people don’t. But…he’s not who you think he is, you know.”

“Why do you care so much about him? Your love for Maggie is clear and that I can understand…but Tierre?”

“T-Wolf is family.” Hope said this with all the certainty of a child discovering one of her first truths.

Dissuading her would be nigh impossible, and certainly not in Yesha’s place. Instead, the queen decided to try helping Maggie using what Hope had revealed, “If they are your family…perhaps you can tell me what’s wrong with Maggie?”

“Why?”

“So I can help her.”

“How?”

“I’m a faery, Hope.” Yesha tried to infuse her voice with mystery, “I’m powerful.”

“Oh,” Hope’s face fell, “I’m sorry, Miss Yesha, but if power is all it takes, me and mine would have cured her by now. But no one can. Not me, not Ryan, not even Tierre. I hate them.”

“Hate who?”

“Scarlet,” Hope was almost whispering now, “I know they did that to her. Made her sick so Tierre would never leave them. I just know it!”

Footsteps warned them of Maggie’s arrival. Hope looked panicked and guilty, then scrambled around to take a music sheet from a drawer in a bureau in the corner of the living room. She arranged the sheet just as Maggie came in.

“We now return to our regular lives,” Maggie intoned jokingly as she entered the room.

Hope smiled.

“So what did you two talk about while I wasn’t here?”

“Nothing!” Hope said quickly. Too quickly. She realized this and looked away.

Maggie frowned, “Hope…”

“She was just telling me about her…music.” Yesha rose to the occasion, “She played Mary had a Little Lamb for me.”

“Yes, I heard.” Maggie’s eyes never left Hope’s bowed head.

Yesha thought, I would hate to have to lie to this woman, “She’s very talented.”

Maggie smiled, finally taking her eyes off Hope, “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet.”

Staying in Tierre’s home wasn’t even anywhere near as hellish as she expected it would be. Yesha decided that for the duration of her time here at least, she will refrain from voicing out her dislike of the male Wolfson in order not to hurt the women in his life.

Suddenly, awareness of the familiar awakened in Yesha. She frowned and looked over at an open window. Her eyes narrowed as her senses reached out…and recoiled.

Selig. Rumus. There was no mistaking those two. Back in their mountains, Yesha would have been hard pressed to pick another Vashkan from a crowd using only her mental senses. But here, surrounded by humans and all things unfamiliar, she recognized her own as easily as picking out a rose from chrysanthemums by the scent alone.

She should’ve been relieved that they’ve come for her. Instead, the elfin queen wondered how she would stop them. She wanted to escape, of course, but she also had to think of Maggie’s safety. Neither Rumus nor Selig knew her, and they would never believe that Maggie had never been, and never will be a part of Tierre’s destructive games.

“Hey, we have company!” Hope suddenly said cheerfully. Before the women could say anything, the little girl had already bounced out of her chair, and streaked for the front door.

“Maggie, you have to hide.” Yesha said quickly, “You’re in danger.”

“What? No, Yesha, it’s probably just my friends. They drop by all the time.”

“No! You don’t understand. There are Vashkans out there. I’m sorry, but I can’t guarantee your safety with them around.”

They heard the front door open, and the sound of footsteps. Yesha’s mind had already zoomed to the fight ahead, so she didn’t notice the difference in the two men’s auras until they were inside the living room. She generated an energy ball just like the ones Selig used on the Slayers.

“Hey, Maggie ―!” Nelson Thorn’s warm greeting ended on a startled yell when instead of the most beautiful woman in the world, a blue-white ball of freaky came to greet him.

“Nelson!” Maggie yelled.

“Thorn!” Ryan leapt towards his friend and pushed him out of the way. The ball slammed against him instead, knocking Alvarez to the floor.

“What’re you doing?!” Maggie screeched, rushing past a stunned Yesha to kneel by Ryan’s side, “I told you these are my friends!”

Hope, who came in after Ryan, crouched by his head, “Don’t worry, Maggie. Look, he’s coming around!”

“I…I didn’t know. Is he all right?” Yesha went over to them, biting her lip in guilt.

“Heeellll…” Ryan groaned, “What hit me? A freight train or T-Wolf?”

“Don’t move Ryan, you might have a concussion.”

“Ask him something!”

“How many chess pieces are there in total?” Thorn asked.

“How much is 543 multiplied by 674 divided by the square root of 80?” Hope chimed in.

“What was the name of your first girlfriend, where and when did you two meet and why won’t you ever talk about her?” Maggie was not to be outdone.

“I don’t have a concussion.” Ryan mumbled.

“That doesn’t answer our questions.”

Ryan rolled his eyes and pushed himself up to a sitting position. He saw Yesha peering at him, “Who’s that?” he demanded.

“That’s the very important kidnap victim. I think.” Thorn replied. He scooted away from Yesha as he addressed her, “We’re here to rescue you.”

“Forgive me. I thought you were Rumus and Selig.”

“We’re not them.”

“Yes, I can see that.”

“You would have hit one of your own?” Ryan asked.

“It wouldn’t have hurt them, just stunned them somewhat.” The elf looked closely at Ryan, “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. Just stunned me somewhat.”

“But you’re only human!”

“So?”

“Remarkable!”

“I’ll say,” Hope gloated in Ryan’s face, “You just knocked out Ryan Alvarez! That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”

“Quiet, Brat. What was that?”

Three people made the observation: Hope, Yesha and Ryan. Thorn and Maggie frowned. They hadn’t heard anything. Ryan got up from the floor with easy grace, not a single trace of the hit he suffered remaining. He moved to the front door. Yesha noticed that he made no sound at all. There was something about the young man that gave her pause; a subtle aura of…power? It certainly felt like it. But he wasn’t like Scarlet. Scarlet made noise, just to let you know that they were coming for you. Arrogant creatures.

Ryan did no such thing.

“It must be those other people who came looking for you. We told them to wait outside.” Thorn told Yesha.

“Oh, they’re not waiting anymore. They’re trying to kill each other.” Hope said casually, peering through a window.

“Hey, yeah, you’re right.” Ryan mused aloud, “Should we stop them or just let them shoot each other?”

“No blood on my front yard.” Maggie announced, whirling around and disappearing to some other part of the house. When she returned, the other occupants of the house gaped at what she was holding, “Open that door, Ryan.”

“Maggie…”

“Don’t argue with me!”

“Okay.” Ryan obediently opened the front door. Maggie stepped out onto the front porch just in time to see the fight roll into the front yard proper.

A man― who looked vaguely familiar― was holding a gun to another man’s head, but that didn’t seem to cow the one at gunpoint. He held up a palm towards the gunman’s chest, and it was glowing blue-white.

The gunman tensed, his finger tightening on the trigger…

Yesha yelled, “Selig!”

And Maggie fired a single shot, not into the air, but at the ground.

The participants of the fight stilled into a shocked tableau. They looked over into the porch to see a tall, slender woman standing there, shotgun in her hands, muzzle still smoking.

“Listen up!” Maggie ordered loudly, “Any shooting that’ll happen around here will be done by me. Anyone is inclined to disagree, just raise your head so I can shoot clear through it.”

Everyone on the yard ducked their heads. Even the younger Slayers who were all busy shooting death glares at the Vashkans.

Now Yesha was really impressed.

“Separate from each other. Slowly. Hands up in the air…good.” Maggie gave rapid fire orders like a commanding officer, “Okay, I want Vashkans on my right and the non-Vashkans to my left. Move!”

They followed her orders as quickly as possible. Maggie cocked her head to the side, studying the two Vashkans. She grinned, “Hey, Yesha. These guys are cute!”

Nelson rolled his eyes.

Yesha stepped forward, “What were you two thinking? Why would you fight against our comrades?”

“Because we tried to stop them from taking Maggie.” Faith shot Rumus an angry glance. Her jaw still hurt like hell.

“We wouldn’t have hurt her!” Rumus said belligerently, “We are not like Tierre. But we would have shown him what it feels like when someone you love is in danger, and things are beyond your control!”

Yesha shook her head. Maybe it wasn’t in their intention to hurt Maggie, but she knew it would have eventually led to that. Even Selig had bent his own principles and stabbed his allies in the back. Their thirst for vengeance was that great.

“You are losing control over yourselves. Maggie is innocent, and she would have gotten hurt because of your narrow-mindedness. You are acting no better than Scarlet.” She said quietly, heavily disappointed. She spoke in the Vashkan language for what she said was meant for Rumus and Selig only.

Rumus bristled at this and a string of angry elfin words escaped his lips. Selig was calmer, but the tone of his voice as he spoke told the others that whatever it was Yesha had said, it didn’t please him either.

“Yo, people! English, please. We don’t speak Middle Earth, you know!” Rona harped, but the elves didn’t pay her any attention.

Yesha had gone rigid, and her voice started to rise. Rumus wasn’t listening to her at all and just kept on his own tirade. Selig had stopped talking. The lord of the Northern Vashkans had obviously decided to wait until the two were done yelling at each other. But his eyes had gone cold and hard.

True to form, the nosy humans unabashedly hung on to every alien word spoken in the live soap-opera with an all elfin cast.

Except for one.

Ryan moved to stand by Maggie, who was gaping at her normally composed guest. “Keep that gun up, Maggie.” He murmured softly. She glanced at him in surprise, then lifted her gun.

Satisfied that Maggie was prepared, Ryan leaned against the post of the railing, half in front of Maggie, standing beside Yesha. Nelson went to stand on the left side, near the rattan sofa. Hope hopped up on the railing on the right wing of the porch.

Ryan surveyed the scene. He missed nothing from this vantage point. He looked over at Faith, standing off to one side with the other Slayers. Just a second ago, she had been focused on the drama.

Now she was focused on him.

Ryan smiled slightly. Smart woman. She hadn’t missed the subtle shift in position of the occupants on the porch. The other Slayers hadn’t noticed at all. They had a long way to go before they could claim the right to stand beside her. Ryan wondered if she was as good as T-Wolf had once bragged she was. Ryan hoped so.

He waited to be impressed.


~*~*~*~


Faith’s ears were still ringing from the gunshot that had nearly taken off Wesley’s foot. She stared at Maggie― the Maggie ―and barely stopped herself from laughing at the incredulous look on Rumus’ face. It somehow seemed so fitting that the woman Tierre had chosen over Buffy knew just how to get the cooperation of kings.

There were a few lamp posts set up to light the ranch, but Faith still couldn’t see Maggie very clearly. She and her posse blocked the light from the house. But the Slayer can make out her deceptively delicate silhouette, weight balanced in a warrior stance, the smoking gun held comfortably in her capable hands. She looked like a woman who could and would kick the asses of those who dared to piss her off.

As the Vashkans continued to yell at each other, Faith saw the people on the porch move to stand in other spots. They looked like they were just trying to see the drama better, but she seriously doubted that. Not when Ryan came to lean oh-so-casually against the railing post, which also happened to let him stand just in front of Maggie. In between her, and possible danger.

Instead of being confused and ticked off, they quickly turned to strategy. Faith was beginning to like Tierre’s people more and more. She looked at Ryan. He gave her the ghost of a smile. He knew she knew what his team was up to. And he didn’t care. They were prepared.

Faith and her team’s arrival had been…expected.

“Shit!” the dark Slayer cursed, turning to her one-time Watcher, “Wesley―”

“I know.” Wesley’s eyes were locked on Ryan, “Now I know why they seem familiar. That’s Ryan Alvarez and Nelson Thorn!” Wesley had no idea what the most notorious bounty hunter in both human and demon worlds and the one hacker who had designed legendary battle scenarios which had proven the downfall of many demonic troops ―all without leaving the comfort of his own home ― were doing in the Wolfson’s ranch. He called himself eight different kinds of idiot for not recognizing them earlier. Of the two, he was most worried about Alvarez. Thorn was dangerous in his own right, but Wesley didn’t think there was much he could do against Slayers and Vashkans, unless there was some sort of electronic device within his reach.

Alvarez was a different story. There were some things whispered about him that were…unpleasant, at best.

Just then, Thorn stuck two fingers in his lips and let out an ear-splitting whistle. The Vashkans and the Slayers turned to him as one.

“I hate to break up this touching scene, but if you guys are just gonna fight, do you mind keepin’ it down to a roar? We have neighbors to think of, you know.”

Rumus’ only answer was to bare his teeth and suddenly ―vanish.

Well, that’s what everyone thought, anyway.

But Ryan ( and the Vashkans ) saw the slight stirring of dust on the spot where Rumus had been standing just a second ago.

Yesha opened her mouth to warn Maggie…

And Ryan stepped up to the plate. With a flick of his wrists, two identical wooden weapons appeared in his hands. They were at least two feet long each, slender and cylindrical in shape. They’d been polished to a shine, and black, runic symbols decorated their length.

In front of shocked Vashkans, disbelieving Slayers and one suddenly giddy ex-Watcher, Ryan seemed to vanish as well.

A heartbeat later and Rumus was on his back on the ground, looking up at the figure of Alvarez looming over him, the wooden swords held in a defense position in front of him.

The whole thing had taken place in two seconds. Maybe less.

Ryan was furious, “You watch who you try to attack around here.”

Rumus was defiant even then. He glared at Maggie. Ryan swung one of his weapons around and hit the Southern lord across the cheek so hard, that even Rumus couldn’t keep from crying out in pain.

“The next time you look at her like that, I’ll slice you open.” Ryan promised lethally. He raised his weapon and the rounded, wooden edge changed, suddenly flattening, sharpening, becoming the metallic razor edge of a sword. The metal caught the light from the nearest lamp and threw off glittering sparks, leaving no room for doubt that this was now a weapon designed to cleave flesh in two instead of just bruising it.

Despite her earlier anger, Yesha tried to help Rumus up. He let her; his pride was hurt, but at the same time, he realized that he had underestimated the human boy.

Selig stared at Rumus, not quiet understanding that his comrade had been defeated in the blink of an eye. One of his clenched fists started to glow a blue-white.

Rumus grabbed his wrist, “Don’t, Selig.” He warned.

“Hah! Doesn’t feel too good, does it, elfie?” Kennedy just couldn’t help herself. A big part of her wanted the honor for putting one of those bastards on the ground for herself, but she consoled herself by thinking she could still have that honor by taking down that Ryan guy. Kennedy’s arrogance rivaled Rumus’.

“Be quiet, Kennedy.” Wesley snapped at the girl. He immediately sensed the male Vashkans’ humiliation and he understood. They weren’t getting anywhere, and they’ve traveled so far only to be…

“Oh, you shut up! We’ve been playing to their tune long enough. I say we take what we came here for and go. I have more important things to do than just stand around here.” Kennedy gave an overly-dramatic sigh and stared at Selig contemptuously, “You guys are full of it. If this is all you got, no wonder Scarlet took you down in one fell ―”

With a cry of pained outrage, Selig finally lost control. He threw the energy ball at a stunned Kennedy, who couldn’t move fast enough to get out of the way.

Two people reacted on instinct.

Faith pushed the tactless girl out of the way. And Ryan threw himself at Faith, rolling on the ground, away from the fruit of a king’s wrath and a cruel girl’s insensitivity.

They came to a halt, Ryan ending up on top. He looked down at the woman beneath him. Faith blinked owlishly up at him.

“Hey,” he said easily, “You should watch out for those glowy power things they’ve got. Those hurt. A lot.”

“Duly noted.” Faith quipped. She cleared her throat and tilted her head sideways, soft, brown hair spilling around her like a dark halo, “Um…you’re kind of…heavy.”

From the porch, Thorn yelled, “Yo, Studmuffin! Let the lady breathe, why doncha?”

Ryan grinned, when what he really wanted to do was strangle Thorn, “I hope you don’t think the orangutan on the porch is a friend of mine.”

“Never even crossed my mind.”

They sorted out their tangled limbs and got to their feet. Wesley gave Faith a hand up. Rona and Vi came to brush dust off her hair and clothes like a pair of hand maidens.

Kennedy stood to one side, scowling.

The Vashkans were standing together now, apart from everyone else. They had regrouped, but were slowly starting to pull away from the humans.

“Are you all right, Faith?” Wesley asked.

“Five by five.” Faith smiled at him, then narrowed her eyes at Kennedy.

“What? Just said what needed to be said.” Willow’s ex muttered rebelliously.

Maggie handed the shotgun to Nelson, then walked out into the front yard. She marched right up to Kennedy, and without even pausing, gave the insolent girl a resounding slap across her right cheek.

Kennedy’s eyes widened, “Hey, you bitch, what do you think…”

Another slap flattened her left cheek. Maggie’s eyes were so cold, they could’ve turned blood into ice, “Yeah, I’m a bitch. But you? You’re just a small, ignorant, stupid girl.” She said simply.

Kennedy was breathing harshly, eyes suspiciously wet, “You…I could pound you into this dirt right here!”

Maggie grinned, “Wow. The immortal words of a bully.” Her grin vanished and she stepped right in front of Kennedy, toe to toe. She was taller so she bent her head until her nose nearly touched the bully’s, “What do you think? Are you strong enough to take me on?”

Kennedy looked the red-haired woman in the eye for as long as she could. But for some reason, she couldn’t hold Maggie’s gaze. Angry, mortified, and beyond confused, she finally dropped her eyes.

Maggie straightened. She cocked her head in a manner eerily similar to one blond Wolfson and then said, “Let’s go inside and talk this over. It’s colder than a pimp’s smile out here.” She whirled around and began walking back towards her house.

As she passed by Nelson, he caught her eye, “You sure about this?”

“Yes.”

Thorn nodded. “You heard the lady.”

Nobody moved at first.

Surprisingly, it was Rumus who took the first step. With a forced, nonchalant shrug, Kennedy muttered, “Well, what the hell.” The rest followed, not quite certain what this Wolfson had in store for them.


~*~*~*~


Beyond the perimeters of the ranch, two women emerged.

“She is sooo cool. Don’t you think she’s cool?” Solana giggled like a little girl, “I think Master Tierre takes after her. Maggie is, like, a goddess.”

Dysis rolled her eyes, “Whatever. I can take her.”

“You can try.”

“Whose side are you on?”

On the other side, a little bit closer to the house, Chick stumbled away from some persistent bushes, grimacing as he dusted off his clothes, “Ugh. A garden. Just what I need.”

“Be quiet. We don’t want them to hear us.” Roe hissed, “At the risk of sounding clichéd: is the coast clear?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“You sure?”

“Well who else would be out here but us, right?”


TBC





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